All of the Above | Thai Inspired Dinner

When should I post on my blog what we had for dinner?

Is it when my family exclaims:

A. Mom the flavors are amazing.

B. Mom take a picture first before we finish it all.

C. Mom I'll help you take a picture

D. All of the above.

Yes, the answer is D.  All of the above.  Having said that, tonight's dinner is what I am sharing with you.  So I just took a few pictures below but if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to dinner.  Enjoy!

Thai Noodles

Ingredients:

1/2 pack Rice Stick Noodles

2 tbsp cooking oil

1/4 lb. ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, chopped

4 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 medium egg

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 c crushed peanuts

4 cups of chicken stock

Procedure:

Soak the noodles in a pan filled with water.  Leave it for 30 minutes.

Saute the garlic, onions and ground pork in a pan with oil. Sprinkle 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper. Stir fry for about 5 minutes or until the beef turns brown.  Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the crushed peanuts.  Transfer half of the cooked beef on a plate. Set aside.  

Using the same pan (and with half of the remaining beef mixture) add 4 cups of water.  Let it boil.  Add the noodles (do not add the water wherein the noodles were soaked in).  Cook until al dente.  Add the remaining beef mixture and give it a quick stir.  Stir in the egg and drizzle the sesame oil.  Stir for another minute or two.  Season with fish sauce. Sprinkle the rest of crushed peanuts.

Serve while it's hot.

Thai Inspired Shrimp Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp 

3 cups rice water (water used to wash rice)

1 cup shrimp stock (boil shrimp heads. Extract its flavor by pressing the heads)

2 pcs tomatoes

1 medium onion

3 stalks lemongrass (pounded and sliced)

1/2 inch ginger (pounded)

2 tbsp lemon/pepper powder

1 chili serrano

1/2 can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce (adjust to taste)

Procedure:

Pour the rice water in a pan.  Add tomatoes, ginger, onions and lemongrass.  Add shrimp stock. Allow water to boil or until tomatoes and onions are soft and wilted.  The color of water should turn orange.  

Add shrimp and chili Serrano.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add coconut milk.  Let it simmer.  Serve hot.  (Now if you want to add more zing to the soup, prick the chili, but do so at your own risk - the Serrano chili is about 5X as hot as the Jalapeno pepper.  The Serrano chiles rate between 8,000 to 23,000 heat units on the Scoville Scale for peppers, SHU units.)

Life is Full of Surprises | Pasta Aligue (crab roe) with Crispy Adobo Flakes

On the eve of my birthday, my husband wakes me up and says: "I'm hungry can you please fix me something?"

I wipe my eyes and stare at the LCD clock radio by the side table and it reads 1 am.

"You must be kidding, right? Really? Really? It's 1 am and you want me to fix you something? There's left over in the fridge..." I mumble.

A few seconds after, I hear familiar voices screaming "SURPRISE!!!"

It was Heather my eldest from the Bay Area. The other voice was from my good friend Kelly, who picked her up at the airport.  I rub my eyes, trying to figure out if I was dreaming... but the more I realize that it's for real, my jaw drops and tears start to fall.

I love surprises... who doesn't?  However, I'm usually the one who stages them. I thought no one could plan a birthday surprise for me, but I cannot fathom the fact that my family actually did one this year... and my daughter's arrival was just the start of what seemed to be a series of birthday surprises.

And so today when I asked my hubs what he wants for dinner.  His reply was "I want pasta...". "Creamy white sauce or tomato based?", I asked.

"...so surprise me", he said. Hmmm, I guess I'm not the only one who loves surprises. I'm sure your family loves surprises too. Let me share my special pasta recipe, and you could use it to pull a surprise on your family. Yes, life is sweet, life is indeed full of surprises.

Pasta Aligue with Crispy Adobo Flakes
(serves 2)

250 grams spaghetti noodles cooked (follow package instruction)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onions, chopped
2 tbsp crab roe
2 tbsp flour
1 cup (or add as needed) shrimp stock (Boil the shrimp heads, crush the head or use an Osterizer, then drain)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 c black olives, pitted and sliced
lime/lemon zests
pepper and salt

Adobo left-overs (for adobo recipe click here)

Procedure:

For the sauce:
In a pan, saute garlic and onions with olive oil.  Add crab roe, stir for about a minute then add flour. Whisk it all together until the mixture is blended and smooth.  Slowly pour the shrimp stock.  Stir and make sure to remove all the bits and pieces from the pan.  Continue stirring until the sauce comes to a boil and thickens. (You could add more broth if you prefer a thinner sauce and strain if needed). Add tomatoes and black olives.  Season with salt and pepper.

Now let's work on the adobo flakes:
Flake the adobo left over.  In a pan, drizzle athcuete oil and add the adobo flakes.  Toast until crispy.  Sprinkle a generous amount on top of the pasta.

Sprinkle some sliced chives and add some lime zests on the pasta.

Enjoy!